USB 3 arrives on the desktop

Posted on 30 Sep 2009 at 09:49

Freecom and Buffalo have unveiled the first external hard drives that use a new version of USB.

Based largely on work by Intel, USB 3—also known as SuperSpeed USB—promises data transfers that are many times faster than the widely used USB 2.

However the new drives won’t get anywhere near the top speed of around 3.2Gb/sec, limited as they are by the speed of the disk hardware, though they will easily outperform older drives. Freecom claims a speed of 130Mb/sec for its Hard Drive XS 3.0 [pictured], while Buffalo states that its DriveStation can reach speeds of 125Mb/sec, both of which should be three to four times as fast as current USB2 disks.

Not that the speed difference makes any difference until Apple ships Macs with the new ports, although Mac Pro users have the option of installing a PCI card and an ExpressCard is available for MacBook Pros and PowerBooks equipped with the necessary slot. Freecom has announced a PCI controller card that will cost £23, and a £26 ExpressCard adaptor.

Intel is pushing USB 3 while it works on the new Light Peak technology—said to have been conceived by Apple—that could replace all the connectors on a computer with a single, universal port.

Author: Simon Aughton

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